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DECISION No

DECISION No. 168/1999/QD-TTg OF AUGUST 17, 1999 ON A NUMBER OF POLICIES OF ENCOURAGING COTTON PRODUCTION DEVELOPMENT

THE PRIME MINISTER

Pursuant to the Law on Organization of the Government of September 30, 1992;

At the proposals of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Minister of Industry,

DECIDES:

Article 1.- The State encourages organizations and individuals of all economic sectors to develop cotton production in the areas with favorable land, climatic and labor conditions so as to supply raw materials for the textile industry, gradually reduce the import of raw material cotton; create more jobs, increase income and improve the life of peasants.

Article 2.- The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shall assume the prime responsibility and coordinate with the People�s Committees of the provinces and centrally-run cities of the localities where cotton is produced as well as Vietnam Textile and Apparel Cooperation in revising and rearranging the planning on areas under cotton along the direction of creating commercial cotton-producing areas, with intensive cultivation and irrigation and closely linked to the system of industrial processing establishments, first of all, in eastern-southern, central coastal and Central Highlands provinces, ensuring that the cotton yields higher income than other crops.

Article 3.- A number of policies of encouraging cotton production development

1. On investment and credit

a) The State-budget capital shall be invested in:

- Building establishments for research and producing prototype and cross-bred F1 varieties;

- Importing prototype varieties of high yield and high quanlity;

- Upgrading cotton strains-producing establishments in key areas in order to maintain prototype cotton strains and quickly produce F1 cross-bred varieties for supply to cotton growers.

b) The credit capital shall be invested according to the State�s plans for the construction of processing establishments and the upgrading and renewal of equipment therein.

c) The Vietnam State Bank shall direct the Vietnam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development and credit institutions in implementing the Prime Minister�s Decision No. 67/1999/QD-TTg of March 30, 1999 on a number of banking credit policies in service of agricultural and rural development, thus ensuring that capital shall be adequately and promptly lent to cotton growers for the purchase of seeds, raw materials and materials in service of seed cotton production, as well as to organizations and individuals for the purchase of seed cotton.

d) The Ministry of Planning and Investment as well as the Ministry of Finance shall find capital sources from organizations and individuals at home and abroad for investment or joint ventures in developing the large-scale production of cotton varieties and seed cotton, thus ensuring the quality requirements of the textile and apparel industry.

2. On science and technology

a) To step up research, strain-selection and hybridization in order to quickly create cotton strains of high yield of over 30 tons/hectare with various crossbred groups, and non-polliniferzous strain line of Vietnam.

The agricultural research institutes, universities, colleges and intermediate agricultural vocational schools shall coordinate with the cotton research center in studying the hybridization and creation of high-yield and high-quality cotton strains.

To concentrate the investment on developing the material foundation, equipment and scientific and technical staff for Nha Ho cotton research center, making it a cotton research institute fully capable of conducting research and creating high-yield and high-quality cotton strains, thus meeting the requirements of the domestic textile industry.

b) The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shall include in its agricultural promotion plan the annual agriculture promotion plans in order to intensify the agricultural promotion activities, the transfer of technical advances to cotton-growing households; review the models of good cotton growers and popularize their experiences to others; study and review the cotton development models in various ecological zones in the Central Highlands, southern Central Vietnam coast and eastern-southern Vietnam.

c) To study the inter-cropping models to include cotton in the stable crop structure in some areas, with highly-intensive cultivation in the regions where exit water conservancy works.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and Vietnam Textile and Apparel Corporation shall direct the implementation of the Prime Minister�s Decision No. 19/QD-TTg of January 8, 1998 on the Project for the development of cotton and other plants for rotary and inter-cropping with cotton, with capital borrowed from the French Development Agency (AFD).

3. On the consumption

a) The Ministry of Industry and Vietnam Textile and Apparel Corporation shall direct textile and apparel establishments to give priority to consuming cotton fibre of domestic seed cotton processing establishments. The benefits of textile and apparel enterprises, seed cotton processing establishments and cotton growers should be harmonized.

b) On the basis of consulting with the Government Pricing Committee, Vietnam Textile and Apparel Corporation shall reach agreement with the People�s Committees of the cotton-growing provinces on declaring the minimum buying prices of seed cotton (the floor price) to cotton growers right at the beginning of the harvest, ensuring that the income earned from cotton is higher than that from other crops cultivated on one area unit. The presidents of the People�s Committees of the cotton-growing provinces shall directly and tightly control the consumption of seed cotton in their respective localities and prevent organizations and individuals from lowering cotton quality grades and prices, that causes loss to cotton growers.

4. On the cotton-plant insurance fund

The Ministry of Industry shall direct Vietnam Textile and Apparel Corporation to annually deduct 1-2% of the value of import raw material cotton fibre for setting up the cotton-plant insurance fund.

The Ministry of Finance shall assume the prime responsibility and coordinate with the Ministry of Industry as well as Vietnam Textile and Apparel Corporation in promulgating the regulation on the management and use of this fund.

Article 4.- This Decision takes effect 15 days after its singing.

Article 5.- The ministers, the heads of the ministerial-level agencies, the heads of the agencies attached to the Government, the presidents of the People�s Committees of the provinces and centrally-run cities shall have to implement this Decision.

For the Prime Minister

Deputy Prime Minister
NGUYEN CONG TAN